1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to beach chairs and, more specifically, to a beach chair that is interchangeable for a pregnant woman.
2. Description of Related Art
Numerous types of portable and collapsible beach chairs are known in the art; however, many of these chairs are not comfortable for people with enlarged abdominal areas. U.S. Pat. No. 2,089,854, issued to Mildred Pellegrini on Aug. 10, 1937, describes a maternity cot and mattress. The cot has a rectangular frame with a central opening and a flexible support net which maintains the mattress. The flexible support includes two similar screened sections and is joined by an intermediate canvas. The canvas is sewed into the edges of the rectangular frame. The mattress has a similar central opening which positionally conforms to the central opening of the main frame. The invention also includes a cover that is placed over the opening when a pregnant woman is not lying in prone position.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,438,715, issued to Royd A. Jackman on Aug. 8, 1995, describes a lounger for pregnant women having three frame components. The lounger includes a support pad with a circular recess. A pad cover is dimensioned to be received within the circular recess of the support pad to provide a flat surface. The two patents mentioned above illustrate clumsy and bulky cot/mattress apparatus which a pregnant woman would not want to drag to the beach for sunbathing.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,464,069, issued to Elaine M. Bien on Sep. 2, 1969, describes a portable sunbathing cot. The cot includes an upper bed frame supported at each end corner by a retractable leg assembly having the upper bed frame supporting a horizontally extended cover. The cover is provide with a centrally positioned enlarged opening adapted to receive the abdomen of a person when lying face down on the cot. An additional cover is used to place over the opening in order for the cot to be used in its normal manner. Since a person with a large abdomen has their weight centered towards the middle of their body, this invention may cause problems because there are no legs or reinforcements in the midsection of the cot.
Bars located in the main frame of some of the following patents are positioned directly beneath the main cover which are felt by a person lying on the chair and can be very uncomfortable. U.S. Des. Pat. No. 341,725, issued to Patricia D. Piper on Nov. 30, 1993, illustrates a collapsible maternity lounge chair having two members that fold towards the middle main frame of the chair. The leg members also are collapsible towards the middle main frame. The main frame and the two members are separately covered with a material and the main frame section includes a circular recess that contains an elastic like material for receiving a person""s abdomen.
U.S. Des. Pat. No. 343,303, issued to Barbara A. DiGregorio on Jan. 18, 1994, illustrates a maternity lounge chair which is basically the same as the above mentioned patent only this invention has side skirts and the main frame section includes an elastic band to hold the abdomen instead of a circular recess.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,349, issued to Valerie Hamilton on Jul. 9, 1991, describes a chair having three support frames. The third support frame is adjustable to the first and second support frame and can be rotational from a horizontal position to a substantially vertical position. The third support frame also includes an adjustable abdomen support longitudinally positioned between its ends for co-operation with cushions positioned on the first and third support frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,508,384, issued to Lawrence E. Castelot and Linda A. Castelot on Apr. 2, 1985, describes a lounge chair for a pregnant woman. The chair is made up of a main seat frame with a backrest, a foot rest, and a second seat frame which covers an open area in the main seat frame. The open area contains an adjustable stretch band to support a woman""s stomach. A disadvantage to these patents is the spaced apart stretch bands still leave portions of the protruding abdomen uncomfortably exposed and without full support between the webbing portions and stretch bands or even between the tubular elements of the frame. U.S. Pat. No. 4,921,301, issued to R. Jalaine Haynes on May 1, 1990, describes a maternity lounge chair which is basically the same as the previously mentioned patent. However, the upper and lower panels of this invention are formed with a border of firm non-stretching material which act to distribute weight to the elastic stretching material. Also elongated strips join the mid portion of the frame cover to the ends portions for continuous support for a reclining person along the length of the frame and frame cover.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,339,471, issued to Ronald F. Lanzara on Aug. 23, 1994, describes a resting bed for a person with a large abdomen. The resting bed includes a parallel top rails supported above the floor, an upper trunk support sling, and a lower body support sling. Each sling is slidably mounted on the top rails. The slings are spaced from one another to leave an opening for a person""s abdomen to be placed. The slings can be adjusted in size to account for the different shapes and sizes of the abdomen. The resting bed also includes an opening in the canvas which permits the user to lie face down on the bed in the prone position. The problem with this invention is that all the user""s weight is centered towards the abdomen and would place an incredible amount of stress on the user""s back because there is no additional support between the slings.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,829,080, issued to Julie Robillard et al. on Nov. 3, 1998 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,059,365, issued to Penelope J. Diamond on May 9, 2000 disclose lounge chairs having openings for the head or face of a user. The patents do not contemplate providing an opening for the abdomen or for an easily removable cover.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,265,848, issued to Ernest Wheeler on May 14, 1918 is drawn to a folding cot. The cot has no openings in the cover member.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,545,882, issued to Coopersmith on Jul. 14, 1925 and U.S. Pat. No. 1,261,063 issued to Mabel Slater on Apr. 2, 1918 show cots with covers that are attached by removal fasteners. The covers have no openings for the face or abdomen.
British Patent number 28,590 issued in January of 1902 is drawn to a cot or mattress for children.
French Patent number 1,079,143 issued in November of 1954 discloses a convertible chair.
An ideal beach chair could be easily converted from a chair for a pregnant woman or person with a large abdomen into a beach chair for normal use. The beach chair would also include an opening within the chair cover to accommodate a person""s face when lying in the prone position so they would not have to twist their neck to their left or right side. The instant invention provides a most suitable answer to the dilemma.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.
The present invention is a beach chair which can be adapted for a woman who is pregnant and wishes to sunbathe in the prone position. The beach chair comprises a frame means, a plurality of leg assemblies, a main frame cover, an auxiliary cover, fastening means for the main frame cover and auxiliary cover, and two openings within the main frame cover (one for receiving a person""s face, the other for receiving a person""s abdomen).
The frame means in two of the embodiments includes an upper rectangularly-shaped support main frame having each corner connected to a leg assembly. In use, the beach chair is unfolded by pivoting the legs downward from the main frame into locking position, as is commonly known in the art. The main frame cover is also divided into three unseparated sections which equally conform to the three sections of the main frame.
The first section of the main frame in the two embodiments comprises a facial opening dimensioned and configured to receive the face of the user when lying in the prone position. The second section of the first embodiment of the main frame cover contains an opening dimensioned and configured to receive a person""s abdomen. The abdominal opening includes a support pouch dimensioned and configured to fit within the opening and comprised of a stretchy material which is dimensioned and configured to conform to a person""s abdomen.
The auxiliary cover for the maternity beach chair is made of the same material as the main frame cover, when stretched over the enlarged abdominal opening, appears like the second embodiment of the beach chair. The second embodiment of the beach chair does not include an abdominal opening in the second section of the main frame cover and remains as a continuous sheet of material. However, both embodiments comprise a facial opening located in the first section of the main frame cover. Each example of the beach chair includes a handle and a shoulder strap.
Third and fourth embodiments incorporate arm rests and an adjustable back wherein the portable structure functions as a lounge chair.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a new and foldable maternity beach chair which comfortably supports a pregnant woman in prone position lying on her stomach.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a new and foldable beach chair which comfortably supports a large person""s abdomen in prone position when lying on his/her stomach.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a beach chair which accommodates the bulge of the abdomen with continuity of support between the accommodating portion and firm non-stretching material portions on all sides.
A further object of the invention is to provide a foldable structure in the form of a lounge chair which comfortably supports a pregnant women.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes described which are inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing their intended purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.